Industrial Works Dept rushes to eliminate industrial waste at abandoned factory in Rayong

BANGKOK – The Department of Industrial Works is scrambling to safely relocate up to 40,000 tons of industrial waste at an abandoned factory in Rayong.

Industrial Works Department Director General Mongkhol Phruekwatthana said that his department had received numerous complaints from the local public in Rayong regarding the problem of industrial waste from the copper ore plant in Phatthana industrial estate. Although the copper ore plant ceased operations for over 10 years but about 40,000 tons of industrial waste remains unaccounted for out in the open, which has caused public canals to be contaminated especially during the rainy season.

The Department of Industrial Works has found that the properties in the plant as well as the industrial waste currently belongs to the Legal Execution Department, which has assigned the Rayong Provincial Office of Industry to take care of the industrial waste.

The Department of Industrial Works has coordinated with the Rayong Provincial Office of Industry to ensure that the industrial waste will be taken care of in accordance with legal and academic principles.